A new contest record
703.9544
highest overall ever cooked here
703.9544 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 695.9656 WHISKEY BENT BBQ - FL set in 2016.
- old record 695.9656
- set 2016 by WHISKEY BENT BBQ - FL
Downtown BBQ Throwdown 2022
Apr 22–23, 2022 · Ripley, WV · 📍 100 Court Street on the Town Square · State championship
Reps: Carol Bigler, Randy G Bigler · Prize money: $5,300
D’Qued Barbeque won Grand Champion at the Downtown BBQ Throwdown on April 22, 2022 in Ripley, WV at 100 Court Street on the Town Square, scoring 703.9544 in a field of 17 teams. Optimus Swine took Reserve Grand Champion with 699.3484. Category winners: Chicken — Still Workin' On It (177.7028); Pork Ribs — HIGH ON THE HOG OHIO (177.7144); Pork — D’Qued Barbeque (176.5600); Brisket — D’Qued Barbeque (180.0000). The Backyard Series standings were won by T & S BBQ with 512.5828. This is the 4th of 4 editions of this contest on record; the 2017 edition was won by SMOKIN OFF THE GRID.
The contest at a glance (read off the scored boards)
How the field scored
Overall totals, every team on the board — tall stacks are where the pack sat.
466.81
median 673.02
703.95 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Master Series — Chicken 177.70
- Master Series — Pork Ribs 177.71
- Master Series — Pork 176.56
- Master Series — Brisket 180 🔥
- Backyard Series — Chicken 173.20
- Backyard Series — Pork Ribs 173.14
- Backyard Series — Pork 176.02
20
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2016 to 2022 — this edition picked out.
Entries
17
7 judged meats
Top score
703.9544
Winning margin
4.6060
GC over RC
Field average
655.72
466.81703.95
median 673.02 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
3.4284 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
666.0912
466.81703.95
10th place overall
Field spread
237.1428
winner to last place
Prize money
$5,300
on the line
Double threats
11
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 18%
beats 82% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
0%
0 of 26 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.7 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,560
avg power rating going in · stronger than 46% of contests
Storylines (7 found in this contest's numbers)
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 11 calls decided inside half a point
Master Series — Brisket places 9–10: CONVICTED PIGS BBQ and SmoKing Aces BBQ - NC tied on 166.2400 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Pork Ribs places 2–3: D’Qued Barbeque edged ALE YEAH BBQ by 0.0116. Master Series — Pork Ribs places 7–8: STILLS-N-SQUEALS BBQ edged HAMBONES BY THE FIRE by 0.0116.
- Master Series — Brisket 9–10 · tie
- Master Series — Pork Ribs 2–3 · 0.0116
- Master Series — Pork Ribs 7–8 · 0.0116
- Master Series — Pork Ribs 3–4 · 0.0116
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
D’Qued Barbeque won Pork, Brisket — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
D’Qued Barbeque took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was chicken at 5th.
- Chicken 5th
- Pork Ribs 2nd
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 1st
A contest record in pork
176.5600
best pork ever cooked here
D’Qued Barbeque turned in 176.5600 in pork — past the 174.2972 that had stood across 3 earlier editions.
- old best 174.2972
- across 3 past editions
The contest returns
5.2 yrs
since the last edition
This contest was away for 5.2 years — the previous tracked edition ran on 2017-02-17.
- previous edition 2017-02-17
A perfect score on the table
1
perfect 180s
1 perfect 180 was scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- D’Qued Barbeque · Brisket
Score curves (score by finishing position — steep cliffs mean a spread field, flat lines a knife fight)
Category showdown (top / average / median score per meat)
Score distribution
Biggest rating movers (power-rating points won and lost at this contest)
Did form hold? (pre-contest rating vs overall finish — ratings called it if the dots climb to the right)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 29, 2016 | Boca Raton, FL | 100 NE Mizner Blvd | 16 | 695.9656 | WHISKEY BENT BBQ - FL | Uncle Kenny's Take-Away |
| Oct 7, 2016 | Hattiesburg, MS | 600 Walnut ST. | 26 | 694.7884 | BOOTYQUE | KILLER HOGS |
| Feb 17, 2017 | Boca Raton, FL | Mizner Park Ampetheater | 26 | 689.1084 | SMOKIN OFF THE GRID | Uncle Kenny's Take-Away |
| Apr 22, 2022 ← this one | Ripley, WV | 100 Court Street on the Town Square | 17 | 703.9544 | D'Qued Barbeque | Optimus Swine |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master Series — Chicken | 177.7028 | 173.1084 | 166.2972 |
| Master Series — Pork Ribs | 177.7144 | 172 | 166.2284 |
| Master Series — Pork | 176.5600 | 171.4172 | 166.2516 |
| Master Series — Brisket | 180 | 175.4056 | 166.2400 |
| Backyard Series — Chicken | 173.2000 | 168.5828 | 157.1544 |
| Backyard Series — Pork Ribs | 173.1428 | 169.7144 | 158.8344 |
| Backyard Series — Pork | 176.0228 | 170.8800 | 154.3084 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
17 entries · top 703.9544 · median 673.0172
Chicken
17 entries · top 177.7028 · median 167.9656
Pork Ribs
17 entries · top 177.7144 · median 167.3828
Pork
17 entries · top 176.5600 · median 167.9656
Brisket
17 entries · top 180 · median 166.2400 · 🔥 perfect 180
Backyard Series
Overall
17 entries · top 512.5828 · median 479.9656 · out of 540, not the usual 360
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | T & S BBQ | |
| 2 | LEM'S MEAT VARNISH | |
| 3 | LOVE-N-SMOKE | |
| 4 | POOR BOYS BBQ | |
| 5 | Ham Squad | |
| 6 | Full Throttle BBQ | |
| 7 | A GUY AND HIS LADIES | |
| 8 | Blue Creek BBQ | |
| 9 | Fat Bottom BBQ | |
| 10 | Hot Johnson's | |
| 11 | Bourbon & Blues BBQ | |
| 12 | Conviction BBQ Team | |
| 13 | Smokinanjokinbbq | |
| 14 | IUOE 132 | |
| 15 | Bearded Brothers BBQ | |
| 16 | Guardians of the Children | |
| 17 | BluSmokeChaserBBQ |
Chicken
17 entries · top 173.2000 · median 158.9028
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blue Creek BBQ | |
| 2 | A GUY AND HIS LADIES | |
| 3 | T & S BBQ | |
| 4 | LOVE-N-SMOKE | |
| 5 | LEM'S MEAT VARNISH | |
| 6 | POOR BOYS BBQ | |
| 7 | Fat Bottom BBQ | |
| 8 | BluSmokeChaserBBQ | |
| 9 | Ham Squad | |
| 10 | Hot Johnson's | |
| 11 | Bourbon & Blues BBQ | |
| 12 | Smokinanjokinbbq | |
| 13 | Conviction BBQ Team | |
| 14 | Full Throttle BBQ | |
| 15 | Guardians of the Children | |
| 16 | IUOE 132 | |
| 17 | Bearded Brothers BBQ |
Pork Ribs
16 entries · top 173.1428 · median 163.7142
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LEM'S MEAT VARNISH | |
| 2 | Ham Squad | |
| 3 | POOR BOYS BBQ | |
| 4 | Fat Bottom BBQ | |
| 5 | Full Throttle BBQ | |
| 6 | T & S BBQ | |
| 7 | LOVE-N-SMOKE | |
| 8 | Conviction BBQ Team | |
| 9 | Blue Creek BBQ | |
| 10 | Bearded Brothers BBQ | |
| 11 | A GUY AND HIS LADIES | |
| 12 | IUOE 132 | |
| 13 | Bourbon & Blues BBQ | |
| 14 | Smokinanjokinbbq | |
| 15 | Guardians of the Children | |
| 16 | Hot Johnson's |
Pork
16 entries · top 176.0228 · median 159.9828
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hot Johnson's | |
| 2 | Full Throttle BBQ | |
| 3 | T & S BBQ | |
| 4 | LOVE-N-SMOKE | |
| 5 | Ham Squad | |
| 6 | LEM'S MEAT VARNISH | |
| 7 | POOR BOYS BBQ | |
| 8 | A GUY AND HIS LADIES | |
| 9 | Bourbon & Blues BBQ | |
| 10 | Smokinanjokinbbq | |
| 11 | IUOE 132 | |
| 12 | Bearded Brothers BBQ | |
| 13 | Fat Bottom BBQ | |
| 14 | Conviction BBQ Team | |
| 15 | Blue Creek BBQ | |
| 16 | Guardians of the Children |